Recent advances in wireless and mobile technologies enable mobile-device users to access the Internet at any time and in any place. Internet usage habits are changing and many new types of Internet-enabled devices are emerging to meet the evolving user demands and changing Internet-usage habits. Many of these new and emerging Internet-enabled wireless devices use custom and/or non-traditional operating systems and access the Internet through mobile data networks. Further, many of these devices include powerful processors capable of executing third-party application software downloaded from digital application distribution platforms (e.g., Apple Inc.'s App Store, etc.). The emergence these new technologies and wireless devices presents additional security challenges for the telecommunications networks, mobile data networks and to the new wireless devices themselves.
Today, malicious software (herein “malware”) may be used by thieves and hackers to steal confidential information, launch attacks on web servers and to flood networks with spam. Recently, there have been many high-profile cases of confidential customer information being stolen from businesses, and private wireless device users being subjected to online financial and identity thefts. Perhaps even more significantly, there has recently been an increase in wireless devices being infected by malware that forces the wireless device to participate in malicious activities without the user's knowledge or consent, causing users to incur higher usage-charges and leaving them vulnerable to potential legal actions. Recent press reports indicate this problem is increasing at an alarming rate. The emergence of these new types of Internet-enabled devices is likely to exacerbate these problems, as current malware detection and prevention techniques are ineffective at preventing or removing malware from wireless devices, especially the new breed of Internet-enabled wireless devices that have custom and/or non-traditional operating systems.
Further, the growth in popularity of application distribution platforms (herein “app ecosystems”) allows wireless device users to more readily download third party software and execute the downloaded software with full administrative privileges on the mobile device. Such downloaded applications may be sourced from many different sources, such as email attachments, instant messaging systems, and device-to-device transfers. The emergence of app ecosystems presents additional security challenges that are distinct from the traditional security challenges presented by a malicious page being displayed within web browsers which could be managed by implementing a sandbox model.
Current malware detection and prevention techniques typically involve installing a protective software client application onto a traditional Internet-enabled device, such as a desktop computer or a laptop computer. Thus, current techniques aim to prevent malware by protecting user-level devices (e.g., laptops) rather than providing a comprehensive solution that can eliminate malware from within the network. Further, since many of the new and emerging Internet-enabled wireless devices do not have traditional operating systems, they cannot effectively employ existing malware detection and prevention techniques. As these new Internet-enabled devices grow in popularity, so will the importance of detecting and preventing malware from within the network.